Trimming device



'.Fan. 3, 1939.` v. J. SIGODA TRIMMING DEVICE Filed'Dec. 9, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Vicor Jl BY if* ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRIMMING DEVICE Application December 9, 1936, Serial No. 114,931

19 Claims.

My present invention relates to trimming or pinking devices, the invention being more particularly related to devices of this character for use in connection with sewing machines to edge trim or pink the work as it is sewed and during the operation by which it is sewed.

The invention aims especially to provide an improved, simplified construction for use in connection with electrically operated high-speed factory sewing machines of the kind usually employed in the garment industry. v

An object of the invention is to provide a trimming device which will be operated by, and in synchronism with, the machine with which it is associated, and which without clogging will edge trim or pink the work being seamed at substantially the usual rate of operating the high speed machine.

According to my invention, I employ a fiat, endless bottom cutting ring which operates substantially in the horizontal plane of the cloth plate. My improved trimming device with this type of trimming ring is constructed so that there will be no interference with the usual movements or sewing duties of the operator and no change in the usual straightaway feed of the work across the cloth plate. The arrangement is such that the work after being sewed or seamed will in the course of its usual straightaway feed and without interruption, be passed across a segment of the operating trimming ring whereby to be edge trimmed.

An object of the invention is to provide a trimming device of the character described, having a trimming unit which includes the flat, endless ring as a bottom cutter, and this unit is so constructed that the ring itself is equipped with a series of movement transmission members arranged to cause a smooth-balanced operation of the ring and for such purpose to receive power from a driving element located wholly within the inner circle of the ring. The trimming device and trimming unit are so constructed and arranged that the trimming unit may be easily removed for cleaning, repairs or replacement.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction in which the trimming unit will have a self-cleaning character, the parts being so constructed and arranged that the dust and lint resulting from the trimming operation will be automatically and continuously forced from the channel in which the working parts perform their functions. In edge-trimming work, particularly at the high-speed at which factory sewing machines are operated, dust, lint and waste generally, are rapidly produced. These waste products are required to be eiectively removed as they are produced; otherwise they will rapidly accumulate and interfere with the duties to be performed by the operator of the machine and such waste products if permitted to accumulate in any quantity, will prevent easy .operation of the working parts and cause a reduction in the high-speed operation of the machine.

In accordance with my present improvements, these waste products are constantly removed, provision being made whereby their removal and discharge are automatically effected by the rotative operation of the trimming ring. v

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction of trimming unit wherein the antifriction bearing members on which the ring turns will have a self-cleaning character.l Provision is made whereby the bearing members are elevated within a channel in the ring structure itself. In view of this elevation, the collection in any quantity of dust and lint upon the bearing members is avoided while at the same time, such line waste products as may find their way to the bearing members will promptly be forced out through suitable escape outlets by reason of the operation of the trimming ring.

With the foregoing and other objects in View the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in the combination and relative arrangement oi' parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings:-

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a trimming device made in accordance with my invention and recessed in the cloth plate of a sewing machine, parts being broken away;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional View taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 and having in association therewith the presser-foot and sew-- ing mechanism of a sewing machine, this view also illustrating how the work after being seamed is edge trimmed;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the device on a larger scale, showing the cover-plate and other parts removed, with parts broken away and in section to illustrate the interior working mechanisms;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation and section, looking toward the outer side of the presser-foot or toward the right-hand side of Fig. 2 with the feed-dog omitted;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary underneath plan view, showing the series of outlet ducts for the discharge of dust and lint fromv the interior of the structure.

With particular reference to the accompanying drawings, in which for purposes of illustration I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, IU denotes the flat-topped baseplate for the trimming device and this baseplate may be and preferably is mounted within an appropriate recess II provided for the purpose in the cloth-plate I2. As shown, the baseplate is so tted in the cloth-plate that the top surfaces of the two plates will be flush. The base-plate I0 preferably includes as an integral part thereof a throat-plate portion I3 provided with the usual openings I4 for the operation of the feed-dog I5 and an opening I6 for the operation of the sewing needle I1.

In Fig, 2 there is shown a presser-foot I8 attached to a presser-foot shank I9; and in Fig. 1 for the purpose of conveniently illustrating the relative arrangement of parts with respect to the straightaway feed, I have shown the presserfoot in outline and have indicated by the dashdot line 20, extending rearwardly across the cloth-plate, the course of straightaway feed movement of a stitched seam made by the needle I1.

2l denotes as a whole the flat, endless, bottom trimming ring or cutter which rotates bodily in the direction of the arrow 22 and is mounted to describe an orbital path adjacent the outer periphery of an annular raceway or channel 23 provided in the base-plate I0. The predetermined orbit of ring 2I is preferably such that the ring will turn relatively close to the straightaway feed line 20 of the stitched seam adjacent the heel 24 of the presser-foot. By this arrangement, the work can be edge trimmed relatively close to and parallel with the stitched seam produced by the needle, and at the same time adjacent to a place where the presser-f-oot is still operating on the formed seam whereby at the moment of the trimming action to avoid distortion of the seam and also displacement thereof with respect to the straightaway feed line. In other words the trimming -of the work is accomplished after the seam has been stitched by the needle mechanism but before the stitched seam has passed beyond the relative position in which it is positively controlled by the functions of the feed-dog and presser-foot. n

25 denotes upwardly presented or raised trimming teeth which are formed on the top face of the ring in juxtaposition to the outer periphery 26 thereof. These teeth which are hardened may be of any approved or predetermined design but are herein illustrated as designed to produce in the work the customary V-shaped edge cuts to prevent raveling. The inner peripheral portion 21 of the ring around the circle thereof, is made with a series of equi-spaced seats 23 for the accommodation of transmission power receiving members in the form of actuable pawls 29 and also with communicating openings 30 for the accommodation of coiled compression springs 3| which act on the pawls to give them corresponding inwardly projecting positions in which the points of the pawls will engage the peripheral ratchet teeth S2 of the driving ratchet ring 33 movably disposed in the annular channel 23 within the circle of the trimming ring. Upper and lower retaining ring members 34 and 35, respectively, attached to the trimming ring, keep the pawls and springs operatively in place.

Power for actuating the ratchet ring may be taken from any suitable source of power, either from some moving or driven part of the sewing machine with which the trimming device is associated or from some outside source. In the present exempliflcation, I show by way of example how the ratchet ring may be actuated by power taken directly from the feed-dog I5. The feeddog is represented as provided with an upwardly projecting lug 3E which Works in a slot 31 in the base-plate I0 and extends into an opening 38 in the ratchet ring. As the four-motion feeddog is operated, the ratchet ring is actuated to and fro, being given an advancing movement in the direction of the arrow 22 with each feeding movement of the feed-dog and a backward or retroactive movement in connection with each retroactive movement of the feed-dog. The lug 36 has vertical sliding fit in the opening 38 to take care of the up and down movements of the feed-dog. With this simple arrangement the feed-dog during the feeding movements thereof synchronously advances the ratchet ring and through the pawl transmissions also the trimming ring in the direction of the arrow 22. Similarly, during the retracting movements of the feed-dog the ratchet ring is synchronously retracted but in this case the trimming ring is not retracted since the pawl parts slide over the ratchet teeth, the springs 3| yielding in an obvious manner to permit such sliding action. Means may be provided to positively prevent any slipping or retroactive movements of the trimming ring; and in the present exemplication such means are shown to consist of a check plate 39 having ratchet teeth lll for engagement by the pawls. This check plate is rigidly secured to the base plate and occupies a position within a clearance opening il provided for the purpose in the ratchet ring 33.

It will be appreciated that the series of transmission pawls, arranged around the inner peripheral portion of the trimming ring, will cause said ring to be given smooth, positive, wellbalanced intermittently progressive movements in the same direction. Vibration in a high speed sewing machine operating at the rate of about thirty-five hundred revolutions per minute, is naturally very high, but through the transmission arrangement herein described the trimming ring is given an easy, quiet movement with a minimum of vibration. I may remark here that the parts are preferably so arranged and proportioned that in a high speed machine operating at the rate of thirty-five hundred revolutions per minute, the trimming ring will make about thirty-five revolutions per minute, the ratio in this respect being approximately one hundred to one. This ratio, however, is not an essential and I do not wish to be understood as limiting the invention to any particular ratio. However, in this connection it is to be observed that with the trimming ring moving at about the rate of thirty-five revolutions per minute, although it is actually moving intermittently, as we have seen, it nevertheless appears to be moving continuously and uninterruptedly, and this rate of rotation for trimming work is so high as to require that the least possible vibration be had in order to maintain efflcient'operation, avoid wear, repairs and replacements..

In furtherance of smooth, quiet and dependable operation, the trimming ring is mounted in the raceway through the agency of anti-friction means contained within the body of the ri'ng itself and functioning upon a rail. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the ring ywithin the body thereof, centrally below the circle of teeth 25, is provided with an annular recess 62 having an open annular neck or restricted portion 43, opening through the bottom of the ring. Operatively fitted within the recess 52 and turning upon the top of a rail 44 are roller bearing members 45 the opposite ends whereof extend correspondingly beyond the sides of the rail so that the members will be centrally mounted and housed entirely within the ring. The members 45 are inserted in the recess before the application of the bottom retaining ring 35 and they become a permanent part of a demountable unit comprising the trimming ring, the actuable spring urged pawls, the roller bearing members and the upper and lower retaining rings. The annular rail 44 extends upwardly from the base plate as shown and constitutes the support for the described trimming ring unit.

The ratchet ring 33 is mounted within the raceway 23 for oscillatory rotation around a central hub portion 46 on the base plate. A cover plate 41, mounted upon the hub portion 4S, extends over the ratchet ring and upper retainer plate to maintain said ratchet ring and the trimming ring unit operatively in place. By removing the cover plate, the ratchet ring and the trimming ring unit may easily be removed for cleaning the raceway, for repairs, or for the replacement of parts.

The rapid and accurate assemblage of the several parts is greatly facilitated by the fact that the pinking .ring 2 l, power transmitting members 29 and antifriction elements l5 may be handled as a single unit, and the latter are so mounted in the ring body that when said unit is placed in the recess 23 of the base plate the rail 44 directs said ring into proper position with respect to the outer circumferential wall of said recess, with the bearing rollers 45 in contact with the upper surface of said rail.

Cir

Cil

In view of the quantities of dust and finely divided lint which are produced during high speed trimming operations, the manner in which the trimming ring unit is mounted upon antifriction bearings contained within the ring itself is important. Due to the ring contained bearings mounted upon a rail rising from the bottom of the raceway, the dust and lint are to a large extent kept out of the bearings. Moreover, under the construction and arrangement shown, the dust and lint which n'ds its way into the raceway and bearings, are promptly propelled by the rapid turning movement of the trimming unit to outlet openings through which they are discharged. In the present disclosure, I show for such purpose a relatively large top outlet opening 43 in the cover plate 41. This opening provides a direct outlet from the raceway and particularly for waste which collects between the ratchet and trimming rings. I also show a series of bottom outlet openings i9 which are provided in the base-plate and extend through the rail it to the bearing recess 42. These openings il@ provide a direct discharge from the bearing members; and it will be noted that said openings extend obliquely with respect to the radial position of the roller members and the direction of travel of the unit so that the roller members will easily pass over them.

To lubricate the working parts oil may be supplied thereto and to the raceway or channel through appropriately located oil ducts as 5U, 5| and 52. These ducts may, if desired, have associated therewith wicks or oil cups (not shown) of any suitable character for feeding and regulating the supply and distribution of oil. Oil supplied under proper regulation has a tendency to agglomerate dust and lint so that the same through the operation of the trimming ring will be forced along for discharge through the outlet openings in ribbon-like strips.

For pressing the work upon the cutting teeth of the trimming ring, I provide a pressure roller 53 mounted by anti-friction devices 54 upon the outer end of axis 55 secured in the enlarged end of a. bolster 5t having adjustable rlt in a channel l' provided for the purpose in the top of a bracket 58. As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, the pressure roller is mounted so that it will press the work upon the teeth at the point in which the ring makes its closest approach to the seam line 20 and heel of the presser foot. To facilitate this approach and at the same time provide for cutting the work in a clean manner, the axis 55 is inclined downwardly and inwardly to support the pressure roller at an angle while the periphery 59 of the roller is beveled, as best illustrated in Fig. 2.

The bolster 56 has threaded therein ,near its rear end a pilot screw 6U having a plain inner end which ts in a dwell 5| in bracket 58. Adjacent its front end, it has an adjusting screw 62 which is screw-threaded into bracket 58, there being a coiled spring 63 imprisoned between the head of the screw and the bolster to act against the resistance forces encountered in trimming` the work. Manifestly, the pressure exerted by the roller 53 can be regulated by manipulating the screw 62. This mode of regulating the pressure also makes provision for accommodating different thicknesses in the layers of work to be trimmed.

In Fig. 2, by way of illustration, I show two sections of fabric 64 and 65 in process of being edge trimmed, the sections having been united by a stitched seam Si? produced by the needle mechanism l?. The lower section 64 lies at with its free edge portion G1. The upper section @5 has a folded-edge portion 58 which with its free edge portion B9 is superposed upon the flat lower section. The folded-edge portion 68 is here shown as it appears under the presserfoot after having been united with the lower section by the stitched seam 56. The two free edge portions 6? and 59, having been seized by the trimming ring and pressure roller, are in process of being edge trimmed adjacent to and parallel with the stitched `seam S6. As the free edges are trimmed, the trimmed-01T or waste portions (not shown) are directed by the turning trimming ring into waste grooves 'lo provided in the base plate and which from the outer periphery of the trimming ring extend rearwardly and at a divergent angle with respect to the straightaway seam line 2G. By the operation of the trimming ring, the trimmed-olf portions are forced to move rearwardly through the grooves 'lil until discharged from the base plate.

The lower section 5d is fed to the needle mechanism while lying lat and passes over a horizontal platform 'H and under a guide l2. The upper section is folded and disposed upon the flat lower section by being fed through a folder-guide '13, and thence (except for the superposed portions which pass under the presser-foot and through the trimming device) moves upwardly over a shield guide 14 consisting in part of a wall 15 which rises to shield the front of the roller 53 and in part of a to-p 16 which rises upwardly and extends rearwardly across the roller and bracket.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be manifest that I have disclosed a very simple and highly eicient trimming device for high speed sewing machines and one which embodies the features which I have enumerated in the statement of the invention and as well in the foregoing description; and while I have, in the present instance, shown and described a single ernbodiment thereof as reduced to practice, it is to be understood that the construction is susceptible of modication in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

l. A substantially flat, annular element with raised teeth on its top face to serve as a bottom cutter, having anti-friction bearings within its body located centrally with respect to the teeth and an annular bottom opening forming a race for receiving means on which to engage the bearings for mounting the element for rotation, said bearings when the element is mounted ior operation being concealed and housed to avoid access to the bearings of dust and waste.

2. A trimming device comprising a ring having on one side a Working face provided with trimming teeth, an extending inner peripheral portion provided with transmission means for receiving motion and rotating the ring, and antifriction bearing means concealed within the body of the ring adjacent the bottom thereof in balancing relation to said teeth for receiving and engaging a base for the ring.

3. A trimming' device of the character described, comprising a substantially flat, annular element having trimming teeth on one face thereof, an extending inner peripheral portion on the element, a plurality of devices associated with said peripheral portion for transmitting rotation to said element, and means carried by said annular element for retaining said devices in assembled relation therewith.

4. A trimming device of the character described, comprising a substantially flat, annular element having trimming teeth on one face thereof, an extending inner peripheral portion on the element having a plurality of seats, transmission devices and springs disposed in said seats, the transmission devices comprising actuable members engaged and normally moved by the springs to operative position for transmitting rotation to said element, and retaining means attached to the element for holding the members and springs in operative connection therewith.

5. In a trimming device, a base-plate, an annular trimming cutter in a raceway formed in the base-plate and having upwardly-presented teeth on its top face to constitute a bottom,cut ter, anti-friction bearing means supporting the cutter for rotation, means for rotating the cutter, and said base plate having an unobstructed outlet opening for the discharge of dust with its ingress end contiguous to said bearing means.

6. In a trimming device, a trimming ring in a raceway formed in the top portion of a substantially horizontal plate bearing means for the ring consisting of an annular rail extending upwardly from the bottom of the raceway and anti-friction means in the form of rollers contained within the body of the ring engaging the rail, and means for revolving the ring upon the rail.

7,. A unitary assembly comprising a trimming member, relatively movable power transmitting means operatively supported by said member for transmitting rotary motion thereto, and means retaining said trimming member and power transmitting means in cooperatively assembled relation for mounting as a unit with respect to a driving member.

8. A unitary assembly comprising an annular trimming member, relatively movable power transmitting means on th-e inner edge of said member to transmit rotary movement thereto, and means on said member retaining the power transmitting means in assembled relation therewith for mounting as a unit with respect to a driving member.

9. A unitary assembly comprising a trimming member, and relatively movable anti-friction bearing means and power transmitting means, cooperatively associated with said member for mounting as a unit with relation to an annular bearing surface and a driving member respectively.

10. A rotary cutting member for fabric trimming devices having cutting teeth on one face thereof, and anti-friction bearing elements rotatably mounted in said cutting member in opposed relation to said teeth, portions of said elements being exposed at the opposite side face of said member for engagement upon an annular bearing surface when said cutting member is mounted in operative position.

11. An annular trimming member for fabric trimming devices having cutting teeth on one side face thereof, radially disposed anti-friction rollers, and means on the opposite side face of said trimming member cooperating with the ends of said rollers to retain the same in assembled relation with said member, and adapted to direct said rollers into engagement with an annular bearing surface when said trimming member is mounted in operative position.

12. In a trimming device, a base, a trimming member and a driving member therefor concentrically mounted in a common horizontal plane upon said base for relative rotation, power transmission means, and means for retaining said power transmission means in cooperatively assembled relation with one of said members for mounting as a unit therewith upon the base and in power transmitting relation to the other member.

13. In a trimming device, a base, a trimming member and a driving member therefor concentrically mounted in a common horizontal plane upon said base for relative rotation, a plurality of spaced power transmission elements, and

means carried by one of said members cooperating with said elements to retain the same in assembled relation therewith for mounting as a unit upon the base and in power transmitting relation to the other member.

14. In a trimming device, a base, a trimming member rotatably mounted thereon and having an annular series of cutting teeth, and means structurally integral with the base and disposed substantially in the plane of said trimming member for removing waste material collected by the cutting teeth and diverting the same from the path of rotation of said member.

15. In a trimming device, a base, a trimming member mounted to rotate in the plane of said base and having an annular series of cutting teeth, and means on said base intersecting the orbital path of the cutting teeth for removing Waste material collected by said teeth and diverting the same from the path of rotation of said member.

16. In a trimming device, a base having a recess in its top face, a trimming member rotatably mounted in said recess and having an annular series of cutting teeth adjacent the outer Wall of said recess, and said base having a plurality of grooves extending from said wall across the top face of the base in the direction of rotation of said trimming member, adapted to receive Waste material collected by the cutting teeth and divert the same from the path of rotation of said member.

17. In a trimming device, a base plate having an annular bearing surface, a rotary trimming member, anti-friction means interposed between said member and bearing surface, and said base being provided with an unobstructed dust discharge opening extending through said bearing surface.

18. In a trimming device, a base plate having an annular bearing surface, a rotary trimming member, anti-friction means interposed between said member and bearing surface, and said base being provided with a dust discharge opening having an end thereof extending obliquely across said bearing surface.

19. In a trimming device, a base plate having an annular bearing surface, a rotary trimming member, anti-friction rollers interposed between said member and bearing surface, and said base plate being provided with an annular series of spaced dust discharge openings having their ingress ends extending across said bearing surface and disposed at an angle relative to the axes of the anti-friction rollers.

VICTOR J. SIGODA. 

